VIERA, Fla. — Though he's still hoping to have Michael Morse and Adam LaRoche back in his lineup for Opening Day — at the moment, LaRoche looks more likely to be ready than Morse — manager Davey Johnson is working out contingency plans in the even either or both have to begin the season on the DL.

We're getting a glimpse of that with today's lineup. Mark DeRosa is at first base, where you'll probably see him a decent amount this season. Even if LaRoche is healthy, Johnson plans to start DeRosa frequently against left-handers.

DeRosa also is a candidate to start in left field if Morse is out, but obviously he can't play two positions at once. So we're getting a look today at Steve Lombardozzi, making his first career start in the outfield. Coach Bo Porter was working one-on-one with Lombardozzi on some fundamentals on a back field this morning. It's pretty clear the Nats are serious about looking at him out there for now.

Nice to have something other than Edwin Jackson. After yesterday's undressing at 3B, Lombardozzi may be happy to be out of the infield. It's starting to appear that Lombardozzi is a 2B or OF or nothing. Doesn't have the arm to play SS or 3B so that doesn't make him much of a utility man — unless he can play OF. (And if he doesn't have a SS or 3B arm he's no RF either.) Sort of the Lannan of util. IFs — secure in his job because he's better than anybody else, but not the guy you want in a crisis.Maybe he'll hit enough to keep his trade value.

So today our lineup is full of guys who project to be on the 25 man roster, and they are facing a guy one year out of UNC, who sported a 4.53 ERA in twelve AA starts last year.One would think we might actually post a crooked number today….

Slowes and Jagler kept blaming the infield — i.e., the grass and the dirt, not the infielders — yesterday. First, given the way the Nats have been kicking the ball around and giving up bleeders everywhere they play, that seemed like a not-so-credible excuse. Second, it is the Nats' park, so why the heck isn't the ST infield as good as the Major League infield? Why don't they "train" on a field that's comparable to the field they're going to play on during the regular season? Nats Jack, do you or anyone else have an explanation?

Theophilus, for one thing, the Fla. infield takes a lot more abuse, wear and tear, and general beatings than the DC field, and it has to withstand Florida weather, including all the rain they get, so the soil is much sandier.

Plus, (please correct me if I'm wrong) Brevard County owns that park, not the Nats, so they don't have the control over the grounds crew (who are all marvelous folks, I'm sure) or the type of infield that's installed.

I am wondering when the next round of cuts occurs? Lots of tricky moves may have to be made … but given the injury situation I guess they are waiting right to the end. It could be interesting with a waiver wire full of names and the Nats with extra space on the 40-man roster.

Sec. 3 — If you're saying the field is totally out of the Nats control, then that's another reason for moving to Ft. Myers. Wherever they are, they should insist on a decent field. I don't buy the idea that FL weather is congenitally inconsistent w/ good field conditions. The Marlins have been playing outdoors, no? What happens if someone like Z'man, who can actually catch the ball, gets smacked in the orbital bone like Cabrera? Fixing a field would cost less money than a borderline FA or an umbrella insurance policy on players.

I liked Cora, very professional, but don't see how we need a light-hitting utility guy (infield) at this point. Charlie and Dave made a good point that Davey is pitching the main guys in rotation, no AA pitchers for him.

It's not that they have zero control, but they are renters, not owners, so there is some measure of control not even the Lerners can get.And I'm not saying the field is horrible, but it can't stay as good in Spring Training as it is at Nats Park. They play on it pretty much every day, with no week-long road trips to allow for repairs. And it does rain much more there all year round, so the soil has to accommodate that, which means it's softer, and thus more likely to give up a divot. Just harder to maintain all around, grass and dirt both. That's partly why Ankiel isn't starting today, apparently–the outfield is soggy from last night's rain, according to C&D, and they don't want to risk re-injuring a nearly-healed hamstring. So, yeah, it's another good reason to get Ft. Myers to fix their field.

Dang, now the Blogster Monster has eaten my post. Anyhoo, was running some errands with the hubster and tuned the car radio to the game in the bottom of the 1st. Heard the score and he starts fiddling with the radio dials – wait, is this the Nats game? Yes. Yes it is. As MicheleS noted, I don't care what if it takes a MiLB pitcher to get the bats going, I'll take it.

I am not the parent of this pitcher, but am the parent of a pitcher and sometimes reading what fools say about pitching on these blogs is just sad. Any of these guys would love to stand out there and get rocked, and most of them would not mind one season in single A ball. It is still an accomplishement for this kid to be invited. Just wait for Strasburg to blow out his arm again this year, because no one has the guts to correct his arm motion. It will happen again unless someone sets him straight.

@NatsLady– Thanks for the link to Amanda Cormak's article. Rizzo just said in an interview with Dave J. that the first day back for players who are backdated to tomorrow on the DL would be April 10.A few days ago, I posed this exact question on a thread here and one of our regular commenters (I won't name names, but you know who you are) very authoritatively answered that there was no backdating (except perhaps to the date that the A's open the season in Japan). So players who open the season on the DL would have to miss the first 15 days. The commenter concluded that that Nats would go shorthanded for a few days rather than put Morse or Storen on the DL, if they think the players will be ready fairly soon after Opening Day. Apparently, that information was incorrect. In fact, there is some chance we won't see Morse or Storen in major league spring training games for the rest of the spring so they can be backdated if necessary.Do us a favor everyone, if you don't actually know the answer to a question don't answer it. Or at least indicate that you're not sure. Thanks.Here's an excerpt of Amanda's piece:As the Nationals' injured players begin to inch closer to activity and possible returns this week, it's important to keep in mind that tomorrow is the date which players can be backdated to if they need to go on the disabled list to start the regular season. However, in order for the Nationals to backdate a player to that date they cannot participate in a major league spring training game after then.So, even if Adam LaRoche, Michael Morse and Drew Storen work their way back to being healthy enough to be in games in the next 10 days, unless the Nationals are certain they will be ready to open the season on the active roster, they will not play them in major league games as a failsafe.They can still play in minor league games and get their work in that way but if any player plays in a major league spring game from March 27 until the end of the spring, they won't be able to use the maximum amount of backdating for the disabled list, thereby elongating the amount of games they'll miss during the season due to procedure.

D'oh! Just figured out why the Mets broadcast was on 106.7. Am listening on HD radio and I was on a subchannel or whatever you call it. Now I have the Nats game on the main one. I take back the rude things I was saying (but not typing) about the flagship.

Late to the party today — and it sounds like it has been a party. Can't wait until all the games are on tv – I take back every bad thing I have ever said about masn ( almost every bad thing). So – was the mets pitching just really, really bad or are we actually hitting well? Some of each? I'll take it. I think Strassie is the only sp that hasn't had a meltdown this week.

A few days ago, I posed this exact question on a thread here and one of our regular commenters (I won't name names, but you know who you are) very authoritatively answered that there was no backdating (except perhaps to the date that the A's open the season in Japan). So players who open the season on the DL would have to miss the first 15 days.Get off your high horse, Section222. In my answer to that question, I did not discuss the date for backdating the DL. I said the DL does not exist until Opening Day, which it doesn't. More specifically, I said the date that 25-man rosters are declared, whatever that date is. That was a true statement. They will not have to declare Storen, Morse or LaRoche on the DL until that date. The backdating is a separate issue. And also, I added a caveat for the early Opening Day in Japan, which happens to be March 28. That may have influenced the DL backdating day for this year, in order to maintain competitive balance. Who knows?Do us a favor everyone, if you don't actually know the answer to a question don't answer it. Or at least indicate that you're not sure. Thanks.Let me tell you something, Section222. Every answer in these comments comes with an implied AFAIK in front of it, no matter how "authoritative" it may sound. No one here is an expert. So do us a favor. If you aren't willing to tolerate answers with an implied AFAIK in front of them, quit asking your questions here. Thanks.

One thing I heard today that I like – Strassie seems to get hot under the collar when the umpire is iffy. Today it sounds like he got squeezed but kept his cool.Back when he was a new guy he was really sensitive to things like that, or if the mound didn't feel right, or some other thing that bothered him. Now – he seems to be more level. Also, I love Drew Storen but am not as panicked as I might be because MPHRod seems to be pitching well and Lidge is a veteran. I think they can handle it if Drew starts the season late.Honestly, we are deep in a lot of areas – it's awesome. Even with the other injuries, we can't really replace the hitting very well, but the defense we can. Yeah — a curly W, finally!

Get off your high horse, Section222.Now that you've outed yourself FeelWood, I invite the peanut gallery to consult my exact question and your actual answer and decide for themselves if despite your Herculean efforts to rewrite the record, you were talking out of your . . . hat. For all our disagreements of opinion on here, I've always respected your baseball knowledge. Thanks for clarifying that we should imply a "AFAIK" in front of everything you say, no matter how definitive you sound in making a factual statement. I'll certainly remember that. There are other commenters who are more careful to distinguish between their opinions, guesses, and statements of fact. I appreciate that, and I'm sure other regular readers do too. I'll continue to post my questions here because I don't pretend to know all the answers and because by and large the commenters who answer them are knowledgable and respectful. I'll just make sure to have 1a's full salt shaker on hand while reading your answers from now on. But feel free to ignore my questions if you wish, I won't mind.As for the height of my horse, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Hope you didn't hurt yourself when you fell off.

Gonatsgo- Interesting observations about Strasburg. He's definitely more mature now than he was in 2010. Also agree about Lidge and Rodriguez. I REALLY hope Storen isn't out for too long, but the bullpen depth is incredible.

So, anyway JayB seems happy for today …JayB, you are right in thinking that the offense is the last true remaining weak spot. It was weak when Willingham and Dunn were in the lineup. Just no one ever bothers to get to the bottom of stats to see that. Stats like bRAA and pRAA are used to calculate the WAR that everyone seems enamored with. I prefer the raw stats themselves … they appear to indicate trends far more than composite, almost rule-of-thumb, stats like the WAR.And honestly, I have to say it doesn't look good relative to this season even after this wonderful spring victory. The Nats FO including Johnson have decided to take a tack that ownership appears to significantly favor: developing young prospects both in the minors and majors before going outside for more "expensive" and also apparently riskier investments outside. And for that Nats that has indeed been the case. So, they are going to fill their coffers with as much talented youth as they possibly can while be extra picky about free agent signings. My take away from watching is that once the youth learns how to win and is consistently competitive I think you'll see ownership will be less reluctant toward top free agents to get the Nats into world series competition. I do hope they go for Lance Berkman next year as it seems more likely for Votto to get extended by the Reds. That should help the offense for 2-4 while they draft and develop some big bats in their system.

What does "AFAIK" mean? I should know that one…Anon 4:28- I'm not so sure about that. Lidge still seems to have swing and miss stuff. His fastball isn't what it used to be, but his slider is still wicked.It looks to me like he has kind of reinvented himself as a pitcher.

Speaking for my little corner of the peanut gallery, thanks but I'd prefer to take a pass on reading either the original posts or a rehash of them here. I invite the peanut gallery to consult my exact question and your actual answer and decide for themselves if despite your Herculean efforts to rewrite the record, you were talking out of your . . . hat.

His fastball isn't what it used to be, but his slider is still wicked.That is actually H-Rod's BEST pitch bar none. Not the 101 mph heater. His slider is deadly … ESPECIALLY after seeing his heat. If he learns a good change up … and manages to maintain control of his pitches … have to wonder if he and not Storen could end up closing? That would be when the trade possibilities start to loom larger … however, after Mattheus (and he too is GOOD at closing) the Nats really don't have anything … been some raves about Corey VanAllen but have to wonder if that lefty will make a good closer? Not sure Rafael Martin can do it. Jury is still out on Smoker … maybe McGreary? Robbie Ray may end up there but he seems destined for starter at this point. And Attie Severino is supposed to have closer's stuff? He's been on the 40-man for at least 4 years. When will he be ready?Either way, 3-4 lefty relievers in any capacity will be a godsend for this pitching staff. Desperately needed. But potential closers? Outside of Storen, H-Rod, and Mattheus? I don't even see Clippard in that role at this point. It helps to keep the big picture in mind because believe me Rizzo constantly has that image in his head.

When I first "discovered" the internet back in the mid-90s, I thought that LOL meant "Lots of Love".Made for some awkward chats 😀Well young whipper snapper … dadgum it back in WWII err the 70's and 80's the Internet was alive and well believe or not as Smart would say. MILNET, ARPANET, and yes the wonderful USENET. The dadgum kids think they invented the internet's peculiar short-hand notation. You'd think they invented SNAFU and FUBAR too … but no WE DID because well the length of email messages was extremely constrained. The original Sendmail MTA would either reject or truncate messages that were too long. Photos, graphics? Tunes? Are you kidding? The backbone was 56 KB and Hyperchannel was high speed NCP based networking. Very slow by today's standards. Although broadband satellite was still quite fast. If you could afford a transponder or two. So, NO kids did not invent the cutsie language or texting (there was something called "talk" in the UNIX Internet Universe first) WE OLD SCHOOL TYPES DID. DADBURN IT!

1a and Cwj — I didn't pick this fight. I asked a serious and sincere question about how the DL works for injuries sustained during Spring Training after failing to find a complete explanation on several sites. And I got a quick answer that was definitive, convincing, . . . and wrong. My bad for thinking that the responder knew what he was talking about. But in bringing Amanda C.'s post on how the DL really works to the attention of everyone here I didn't identify the purveyor of false, or misleading, information. Instead, I just made a plea for care in implying certainty when you're just guessing. Also, I just don't like people who Imply that my horse is on drugs.

Gosh, what great news that the bats showed up for once. We experienced these times last year, guess it's the way it will be.Mark, I have a question for you.I haven't been 100% loyal in keeping up but can't find some of these reasons for injuries to Morse, Storen, LaRoche and Ankiel. Were they healthy coming to camp or get hurt during spring training.For me it's like getting to the airport for a 7am flight, getting on the plane and then finding out there is a problem with the plane. Frustrating that players have gotten injured after a winter of rest.So maybe when you do your next update on status you can write a sentence on what caused the injury or problem

Were they healthy coming to camp or get hurt during spring training.These were fairly typical spring training using muscles in baseball activities that hadn't been used on a regular basis in this way for awhile. Note the winter league guys have had nary a problem. Last year H-Rod came down with a similar set of problems and didn't start the season with the opening day roster. This isn't Marquis nor is it LaRoche who are plus-plus 30 guys on the decline. Morse typically gets something in the spring … he pulled a hamstring and ended up on the DL two years ago. There were issues coming out of camp but as he has stated, he put up with the less serious issues to make the team. Last year there was Zimmerman with the abdominal tear. He tried to play with it. Ended up getting it surgically corrected. Clearly this partial lat tear is something a bit more serious. But the guy is a gym rat and he should be ready to go .Now, perhaps (maybe) many of you will understand why:1. Old-school baseball said never let baseball players do any sort of weight training in the offseason or during the season or risk losing them to these sorts of injures.2. New but somewhat old-school indicated the use of Steroids. Less to get super strong because in the end that required a lot of weight training a lot of work but MORE because it definitely accelerates healing. Allows athletes to lift everyday instead of waiting 1-2 days to do more lifting with another part of the body. Steroids help the muscles recover that fast. Today baseball athletes lift weights in season and in the off season to improve athletic performance. They can no longer use steroids to aid in the healing process. So, it all adds up at least to me.

Actually, I believe that FUBAR and SNAFU (and probably others as well) predated the interwebz, though there is a military connection. Funny post, though. :-)Anonymous said… Well young whipper snapper … dadgum it back in WWII err the 70's and 80's the Internet was alive and well believe or not as Smart would say. MILNET, ARPANET, and yes the wonderful USENET. The dadgum kids think they invented the internet's peculiar short-hand notation. You'd think they invented SNAFU and FUBAR too … but no WE DID because well the length of email messages was extremely constrained. The original Sendmail MTA would either reject or truncate messages that were too long. Photos, graphics? Tunes? Are you kidding? The backbone was 56 KB and Hyperchannel was high speed NCP based networking. Very slow by today's standards. Although broadband satellite was still quite fast. If you could afford a transponder or two. So, NO kids did not invent the cutsie language or texting (there was something called "talk" in the UNIX Internet Universe first) WE OLD SCHOOL TYPES DID. DADBURN IT! March 25, 2012 5:05 PM

zgolfersol, they all got hurt during ST.Storen called it biceps pain, but he also dealt with strep throat.Ankiel pulled his quad.Morse's lat problem developed in stealth.LaRoche we are told turned an ankle. How that became a bone bruise is still a bit of a mystery.

Understood, sec 222, but we *are* going to need to test your four-legged friend. Nothing to worry about, standard procedure and all that. However, the local Fed Ex being closed on weekends and all, we will have to hold the sample for a day. Section 222 said… 1a and Cwj — I didn't pick this fight. I asked a serious and sincere question about how the DL works for injuries sustained during Spring Training after failing to find a complete explanation on several sites. And I got a quick answer that was definitive, convincing, . . . and wrong. My bad for thinking that the responder knew what he was talking about. But in bringing Amanda C.'s post on how the DL really works to the attention of everyone here I didn't identify the purveyor of false, or misleading, information. Instead, I just made a plea for care in implying certainty when you're just guessing. Also, I just don't like people who Imply that my horse is on drugs. March 25, 2012 5:07 PM

Actually, I believe that FUBAR and SNAFU (and probably others as well) predated the interwebz,Used during WWII when communications were less than reliable and worked in short bursts. Plus they even still used morse code telegraphy …. the ultimate short-hand.

peric – was that you with the "whipper snapper" post @ 5:05?Whoever it was, that was my favorite of the day.Sunderland,Well who else on here would even know or remember alt.flame? One of my favorite USENET groups … 😉 That was fun.

We argue, we bicker, dare I say – we denigrate. Yet we bond. ****peric – was that you with the "whipper snapper" post @ 5:05?Whoever it was, that was my favorite of the day.Sunderland,Well who else on here would even know or remember alt.flame? One of my favorite USENET groups … 😉 That was fun.

Understood, sec 222, but we *are* going to need to test your four-legged friend. Nothing to worry about, standard procedure and all that. However, the local Fed Ex being closed on weekends and all, we will have to hold the sample for a day. Standing at the witness table, right hand raised, flashbulbs going off — "My horse has never used steriods , HGH (horse growth hormone), or any other PED, nor has he ever used any drug that would make him high. And if your test shows that he did, you better not have left it in that crappy old refrigerator in your basement for the weekend."

@anon 4:57 That is actually H-Rod's BEST pitch bar none. Not the 101 mph heater. His slider is deadly … ESPECIALLY after seeing his heat. If he learns a good change up … and manages to maintain control of his pitches … have to wonder if he and not Storen could end up closing? I really love Storen and hope he stays our closer, but I must agree with you. If HRod harnesses his stuff, he'll be lights out.

Re: back-up closer — hasn't Mattheus had some problems this spring? Seems like he needs to spend some time in Syracuse. Even though Lidge may not have his old velocity, I will take a guy who knows how to pitch anyday. If you combine him with some MPHRod action, we can make do. Hopefully Drew will be a faster healer than everyone else. You know, I really don't want them playing all of spring training through the pain just hoping it will go away. Even if they miss some time early, we need them all healthy down the stretch, not ailing all season.

We argue, we bicker, dare I say – we denigrate. Yet we bond. ****From all distant corners of the globe even in the dark ages of the Internet that pretty much was the motto for groups like alt.flame. Although it built up a lot of useless bytes built up in those newsgroups that became quite massive. It may be reason why the Berlin Wall fell. The Russians ever the smart math types knew what was coming. They were on USENET.